Managing COVID- 19 Crisis in Nigeria: Impact on Informal Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Anambra State

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic disrupted the Nigerian economy and brought the global economy to a standstill. The crisis led to a drop in production volumes and severe market circumstances as the epidemic continued to wreak havoc on the country, SMEs in the informal sector are battling to survive. This study examines the effect of COVID-19 government palliative on informal Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Anambra State, Nigeria. The researcher used purposive sampling technique and selected all informal enterprises in public places using questionnaire as an instrument for data collection which were distributed to 200 SMEs owners in Anambra State. Three commercial areas were selected namely Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi, 180 out of 200 questionnaires were viable. From the Research conducted, COVID-19 Pandemic was found to have a negative impact on volume of sales, revenue, and non-payment of wage during the Crisis. The finding also showed that most SMEs did not receive government palliative which would have help them in boosting the SMEs during the Pandemic, this make most of them to shutdown their business. Lastly, SMEs adopted some strategies like cutting the salaries of their staff during Covid 19 and laying off of workers (with no plan to recall them), and ensuring business continuity. This research recommends that government should support SMEs in informal sector in meeting their operational expenses as this will assist them in reviving and boosting their business which will help them increase their income as well as recoup revenue lost during the pandemic.